Traffic lights help drivers accessing road

FRENCH VALLEY -- After years of pleading with the county to
install traffic signals along the 2.5-mile stretch of Winchester
Road between Hunter and Thompson roads, people living and working
in French Valley are finally getting some relief.

Last week, a traffic signal at Hunter and Winchester roads was
turned on, and this morning the Riverside County Board of
Supervisors will consider approving another signal along the
dangerous stretch of roadway, which has seen more than 100
accidents -- three fatal -- since the beginning of 1999.

As the primary connection between Hemet and Temecula, the
heavily traveled road carries about 15,000 vehicles a day, which is
about 5,000 more than county officials say the two-lane road is
meant to handle. That number is expected to jump to 50,000 in 20
years, and eventually climb to 75,000 vehicles per day, according
to county projections.

Along with the proposed traffic signal at Winchester and Benton
roads, the supervisors will consider today whether to sign off on
environmental clearances for the widening of Winchester from two to
four lanes between Hunter and Thompson roads.

"This is definitely an important step along the way," Riverside
County Director of Transportation George Johnson said Monday. "With
the approval, we can proceed to construction."

The board will meet at 9 a.m. today at the County Administrative
Center, 4080 Lemon St. in Riverside.

If the environmental report is approved, Johnson said he expects
work on the widening to begin in March and take about four months
to finish.

But the $2 million project to widen Winchester between Hunter
and Thompson cannot begin until the last of four traffic signals
along the route are completed, county transportation officials
said.

Three of the signals have recently been installed along
Winchester -- one at Hunter Road, one at Auld Road, and another at
Thompson Road. The Hunter Road signal was the latest to be
completed, following the Auld and Thompson signals that went up
earlier this year. The last signal, at Benton Road, is the one the
supervisors are considering today.

Joe Diorio, owner of American Valet Air at French Valley
Airport, says the traffic light recently installed at Hunter was
overdue but appreciated.

"It has helped tremendously," Diorio said. "Now you have a
chance to get out (onto Winchester) without getting killed."

Eventually, the county, along with the California Department of
Transportation and the Riverside County Transportation Commission,
plan to widen Winchester Road to six lanes north of Thompson Road
to Domenigoni Parkway.

Caltrans is studying the environmental effects of the road work,
Johnson said. Officials with Caltrans knowledgeable of the project
could not be reached for comment Monday.